“It is much quieter today than yesterday and the day before,” says one resident of Tripoli, where previously fearful citizens tell the Times they thought Gadhafi's downfall could come quickly. “The situation is getting really tough now.” Battles in surrounding areas have largely cut off Tripoli from supplies, and the humanitarian situation there is said to be deteriorating, with soaring crime and food costs. But one US official says that intel is sketchy: “Clearly, the regime is feeling the pressure, and the opposition is gaining ground each day. (But) how or when that translates into a tipping point or what the endgame might look like is hard to determine. Gadhafi might not know what he’s going to do from one day to the next.”